Jaspreet Kaur 

Prof. Ding 

English 2150 

5 March 2023 

Greed 

Fall was my favorite season where I received my biggest life lesson. Every Sunday morning we went to the gurdwara. As my father and I were walking home from the Gurdwara I saw a quarter on the ground and pointed it out to my father. I turned to him and said “Could I pick up the quarter?” to which he responded “No, Jas do not pick up any money you see on the ground, it will only make you greedier”. I bit my lips and stormed off into the house not understanding why he did not let me pick up the quarter. 

As a kid I would dread going to the Gurdwara because it felt like a waste of time when I could be fooling around with my childhood friends. I was running away from Sikhism like I was running towards the swings in the playgrounds. My friends were also Sikhs like I am, but it never took away the knots forming in my stomach when we talked in our mother tongue. 

My Punjabi culture led me to become self conscious about who I was. When anyone brought up the topic of culture, I felt my cheeks turn pink because I did not want to share my Punjabi roots. I would make sure I did not smell like the rich flavors of the curry my mother would prepare for and I tried convincing her to not lather my hair with Amla oil. 

My father was a turban wearing Sikh and my mother is a salwar kameez wearing Sikh. Whenever I was in public with either my father or mother I would always shy away from them. My fathers thick accent while trying to speak English made me cringe inside. My mother always tried to insert herself into the conversations so she could learn how to speak proper English and I would try to run away. Also, my father was a selfless, humble, and contempt person. Him being content and humble is why no one would ever categorize him as a selfish and greedy person. 

Our religion teaches us to give to people who are in need of help. This is called Seva which is to give without looking or expecting to get rewards for your selfless act of service. I’ve done Seva for as long as I can remember and the blissful feeling of being surrounded by the hymns of our prophet’s words is surreal. Which is why subconsciously Sikhi has been embedded into every nook and cranny that my brain could have. I am proud to be Sikh, I am proud of going to the Gurdwara every Sunday, and listening to the gurus retelling stories about the ten prophets. Being in harmony with the hymns relaxes me and reminds me of why I should be contempt with my life. Simply because we are all one, no one person is different from another person. 

On the other hand greed is one of the five sins in my religion. Greed is this intense passion for worldly items. It tends to make you a self-centered/selfish person which makes you forget your duties as a Sikh. It all comes back to me now on why my father told me to never pick up that quarter on the ground. If I had picked up that quarter I would have wanted more and I would not be thankful for where I am in life so far. This was the biggest life lesson my father left me with.

The opposite of giving is greed. No one realized death would be a prominent factor in my family and yet it was. My father gave everything his all, but death was so greedy it decided to take him. On April 20th, 2020 my father passed away due to the uprisings of covid. All I ever saw my father do was pray to God and be one with God. He gave his all to God and he was ready to go home. 

All the things I used to be embarrassed about are the things I embrace. I hope the air I am surrounded with when I cook resembles the rich flavors of my mothers curry. I make sure I put Amla oil in my hair to ensure thickness and growth like I once did. I am reminded of this lesson every time autumn rises. I talk to my childhood friends and relate to shared experiences of struggling with greed. We discuss why it is so beneficial to be contempt and grateful with where you are in life. Which is why I want to be remembered the same way my father is remembered by everyone that matters the most.